Namibia Facts

Namibia Facts and History

Africa

Namibia – the former German South West Africa

Namibia is the old German South West Africa and was lost as a German colony after the First World War. By resolution of the then League of Nations, a forerunner organization of the UN, Namibia was assigned to the South African Union as a mandate area in 1920.

Bad memories from the German colonial times are without a doubt the murder of large parts of the Herero tribe. The Herero uprising in 1904 was crushed in the Battle of Waterberg on August 11 of the same year.

Subsequently, the German settlers and their protection forces under Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha (1848-1920) drove the families of the Hereros into the Omaheke bush steppe in Botswana. Since the Germans had occupied the few water points, most of the people died in agony.

In 2004 the Federal Republic of Germany confessed to Germany’s guilt and promised increased development aid instead of the required compensation payments.

Namibia is located in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean. The area of what is now Namibia is located on one of the oldest parts of the earth’s crust, the so-called African base. Due to the sparse vegetation of the country, the excellent preserved geological structures and phenomena are clearly visible. These include the approximately 2.1 billion year old metamorphic rocks of the Vaalium in the Kaokoveld and on the Oranje. The lowest layers of the Fish River Canyon are over a billion years old.

Name of the country Republic of Namibia
Form of government Presidential Republic
Geographical location southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean
National anthem Namibia, Land of the brave (Namibia, Land of the Brave)
Population about 2.7 million (Credit: Countryaah: Namibia Population)
Ethnicities mostly Bantu peoples, especially Ovambo
Religions approx. 62% Protestants, 20% Catholics, natural religions
Languages English (official language), Afrikaans, Ovambo, Herero and others
Capital Windhoek (Windhoek)
Surface 824,292 km²
Highest mountain Königstein with a height of 2,606 m
Longest river Zambezi with a length of 2,763 km
Largest lake There are no larger lakes in Namibia.
International license plate NAM
National currency 1 Namibian dollar = 100 cents
Time difference to CET CET applies.
International phone code 00264
Mains voltage, frequency 220/240 volts and 50 hertz(three-pin plugs are used.)
Internet TLD (Top Level Domain) .n/A

Namibia: history

Until the 19th century

The earliest evidence of settlement on the south-west coast of Africa is between 27,000 and 5,000 BC. Rock paintings of the San (Bushmen) and the Damara originated in BC. In the 13th century AD, the immigration of Bantu peoples, including Ovambos and Hereros, began in the area.

According to Abbreviationfinder website, the first Europeans landed on the coast of what is now Namibia in the 15th century. Around the year 1760 the south of Namibia was settled by Buren. From around 1800, the European-influenced Orlam tribes of the Nama pushed the Bantu-speaking population far north through brutal wars. The armed conflicts between the two tribes facilitated the penetration of colonial conquerors in the period that followed. The San were pushed east into the Kalahari Desert, where some of them still live today.

In 1884 the country was placed under the “protection” of the German Empire as German South West Africa.

In the 20th century

The Herero uprising in 1904 was crushed in the Battle of Waterberg. Subsequently, the German settlers and their protection forces committed a genocide on the Herero by driving the families into the desert and withholding water from them. In 2004 the Federal Republic of Germany confessed to Germany’s guilt and promised increased development aid instead of the required compensation payments.

A Witbooi and Nama uprising in 1904 and 1905 was also put down.

During the First World War, the territory was conquered by South African troops. The apartheid state then retained control of the area, despite subsequent requests from the UN to withdraw. In 1966, the SWAPO (South-West Africa People’s Organization), supported by the Soviet Union, began a guerrilla war from Angola to gain independence for the country that was then named Namibia. Embargoes forced South Africa to agree to a UN peace plan and to end the occupation.

In 1990 Namibia became independent. The authoritarian Sam Nujoma, appointed by SWAPO, became president. In 1994 Namibia also got the enclave Walvis Bay back from South Africa. In the presidential elections of 2004, the former Minister of Agriculture H. Pohamba, who was also nominated by SWAPO, won.

Namibia Facts